


The Naughty List

by ayyohh



Category: Veronica Mars (Movie 2014), Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas Party, Christmas fic, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Lilly Lives, Lovecember2020, Meet-Cute, Mistletoe, Prompt Fic, Ugly Christmas Sweater
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28178052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayyohh/pseuds/ayyohh
Summary: Ugly Christmas Sweater Guy doesn’t look at all affected by the fact that he is completely and inappropriately underdressed, just like her. No, he looks very much at ease.Veronica is intrigued.
Relationships: Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars
Comments: 29
Kudos: 93
Collections: Lovecember Holiday Edition





	The Naughty List

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Marshmellow Bobcat (MellowBobcat)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MellowBobcat/gifts).



> Created for the Lovecember prompt: “We both wore ugly sweaters to this Christmas party because the invitation didn’t say it’s formal”. 
> 
> For MarshmellowBobcat, who totally bullied me into writing this (in the best way possible). 
> 
> This is the very first piece of fiction that I've ever written, so I hope you like it! <3
> 
> Art by the talented VMarsFanArt

* * *

Veronica follows her friends out of the cab and takes a long look at the building in front of them. “Are you sure this is it?” she asks Mac.

“Yes, I’m sure this is it.” Small smile playing on her face, Mac exchanges glances with Wallace while closing the car door.

“But aren’t there only, like, fifteen employees so far?” Veronica furrows her brows at the very large, lavish restaurant as they head toward it. “Kind of fancy for a Christmas party.”

“What about Lilly-Kane-is-the-founder-and-CEO do you not understand?” Wallace rubs his hands together with glee. “Free food and open bar? Yes please.”

Carolyn links her arm through his as she carefully steps up the icy stairs to the restaurant. “I would expect nothing less from The Great Lilly Kane. She’s actually been a pretty cool boss so far,” Wallace’s girlfriend confides. “It helps that no expense is too great. There are fresh pastries every day in the break room. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if they were imported from France!”

Mac and Carolyn work for LK Industries, a start-up company founded about eight months ago by Lilly Kane – heiress-turned-fashion mogul. The app they created, MondeMode –employees use the shorthand ‘MM’– has completely blown up in their key demographic: women ages 18-24. Users can take a picture of any clothing item in a store, upload it to the app, and in turn see similar styles, colours and cuts on celebrities. Mac says they’ve had to rewrite the code twice because the app kept crashing due to the heavy traffic. 

After navigating the slippery path – _they should really put salt on that, it’s a lawsuit waiting to happen_ – they enter the foyer of the restaurant. 

Wiping his feet on the entrance mat, Wallace claps loudly. “All right, everyone. The first order of business is to head to the bar - give me your orders! First round is on me,” he winks. The girls roll their eyes.

After a week at work where she barely had time to shovel down her lunch, Veronica is ready to cut loose. She will not think about the briefs she has to prepare or the emails piling up in her inbox, _no she won’t_. Shrugging off her jacket, she smooths out her ‘ugly Christmas sweater’ and tugs it back down over her leggings. It is bright red with green trim and snowflakes, and it never fails to remind her of her dad. 

One of their traditions was to watch Home Alone and Home Alone 2 on Christmas morning, and whenever it got to _that_ scene, like clockwork, they would shout: _‘Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal!’_. When he gifted her the sweater –with _their_ quote sewn onto it in all capitals– it became a symbol of their father-daughter bond.

Fluffing her wavy, shoulder-length hair, she turns to her friends to ask where to put her coat. And her eyes widen.

“What the fuck?”

Mac, Wallace, and Carolyn all comically stand there with their mouths open, staring back at her. Mac, Wallace, and Carolyn, who are all in formal attire. Staring at Veronica, who, as has been established, is sporting an ugly Christmas sweater and leggings.

Wallace recovers first. And laughs.

“Oh, man, this is _too_ good.”

“Mac!” Veronica sputters. “You didn’t– You never said–”

Mac throws her hands up in a placating manner. “Hey, hey, sorry that I assumed the teenage-PI of the group would piece together all the stories of my larger-than-life boss, and how she loves to get dressed up, throw parties, and live lavishly.”

“You said she denounced her parents and didn’t want any of their fortune!”

“That doesn’t mean she’s not still _Lilly freaking Kane_!”

“But, it’s a start-up! And the first Christmas party... and I just didn’t think–”

“Oh, come on! It won’t be that bad,” Carolyn promises. She grabs Veronica’s arm and they all drop their coats into the coat room. 

As the loud noise of the party draws closer, Veronica slows. “I don’t even work here and I’m going to stand out like a sore thumb,” she groans. 

“I’m sure nobody will even noti–”

Veronica stills as they enter the main restaurant, and she estimates that twenty heads turn towards her. It must be easy to spot a bright red sweater from the corner of your eye when most people are wearing black.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, she lifts her chin and turns to Wallace. “I think I’ll take that drink now.”

* * *

A drink and a half in, and Veronica is almost used to the muffled laughter that occurs every time she moves through the restaurant. She still feels uncomfortable and out of place, but with more people here now, there’s enough bodies to shield her from most eyes. It turns out that once you factor in plus-ones and personal guests of the CEO herself, the place is quite full.

With soft Christmas music playing in the background, it really does feel like she’s walking in a Winter Wonderland. Carolyn wasn’t kidding. _No expense too great_. Instead of a green and red theme, the room is draped in whites and golds, with only pops of the bright colours. Most of the large tables and chairs have been replaced with high top tables sporadically spread out and some couches for lounging. The candle centrepieces on the tables help set the intimate and cozy mood in the restaurant. Huge vases filled with large white and gold baubles fill the space, and there is a whole wall with cascading gold tinsel, presumably as a backdrop for pictures. To top it all off, a beautiful, twelve foot Christmas tree looms near the back, covered with elaborate white and gold ornaments, some monogrammed with the letters ‘ _MM_ ’.

Wallace and Carolyn canoodle on the couch, while Veronica tries to listen in on Mac’s coworker rambling on about _algorithms_ and _hits_ and... _something_. It’s not her fault she’s distracted by the plates of hors d'oeuvres that keep passing by. Grabbing another mini _tarte flambée_ , her eyes wander, and she spies a new group of people who seem to have just arrived. 

These men are all varying degrees of attractive, but that’s not what catches her attention. It’s the out-of-place maroon sweater with white snowflakes all over it. It hugs the body of a tall, handsome brunette in dark jeans, who laughs at something his friends just said. His friends, who are in suits. Ugly Christmas Sweater Guy doesn’t look at all affected by the fact that he is completely and inappropriately underdressed, just like her. No, he looks very much at ease.

Veronica is intrigued. 

She’s still staring, when Jonah – Joshua? – asks her what she thinks. 

“Hmm?” she responds, lips pulled between her teeth.

Mac shakes her head, chuckling. She jerks her head to the side.

Veronica takes the out and chugs the last few sips of her wine. “Would you look at that? I’m empty. I’m just gonna…” 

She jabs her thumb behind her, slowly tiptoes backwards and turns toward the bar.

* * *

“Pinot Grigio, please.”

“You have good taste,” a low voice drawls behind her.

“He can pour you one too, while he’s at it,” she throws over her shoulder.

“No, I meant your sweater.”

_Oh._

Veronica turns and comes face to face with the only other person in casual dress. She finally has a chance to read what his ugly Christmas sweater says – _I’m Sexy and I Snow It_ – and is torn between a laugh and a grimace. It comes out like a weird cough.

“You like?” Sweater Guy smirks, gesturing to his chest.

“You definitely know how to make an impression,” she volunteers. 

Aside from the vaguely cringey wording – which should have her rolling her eyes instead of licking her lips, _right?_ – his sweater showcases a snowman, clad in a hat and scarf, holding weights over its head. It’s kinda… cute. 

Though– how Sweater Guy can stand there looking so carefree baffles her. They are the only two people here not in a suit or a dress. But, the maroon sweater clings to his obviously sculpted frame and highlights his brown eyes, and Veronica internally sighs. Why wouldn’t he be at ease? Look at him. This guy oozes confidence. He’s probably a life coach, or something. If the ‘army pants and flip flops' girl was here, wearing an Ugly Christmas Sweater to a formal party would be the new _it_ thing. 

She realizes she’s been checking him out for a beat longer than is socially acceptable. “You know, people are staring at us. I think they think we did this on purpose.”

“You mean, you didn’t wear your sweater hoping for attention?” Sweater Guy puts his hand to his heart and furrows his brows in fake disbelief.

“Funny enough, that wasn’t one of my priorities for the night. You?”

“Oh, I live for the attention,” he volleys back, with all the fake sincerity he can muster.

“Cause you’re sexy and you snow it?”

His lips twitch as if he’s holding in a smile and he looks at her like he’s trying to figure something out. She’s not sure _what_ he’s trying to figure out, but–

“I’m Logan, by the way.” He extends his arm toward her.

“Veronica.” She shakes his hand as their gazes lock. He has expressive eyes; deep brown and kind of piercing. It’s a little disconcerting. She hasn’t flirted with a cute guy in... well, a long time, and she’s out of practice.

She drops her hand and picks up her freshly poured glass of wine. “So what brings you to LK Industries’ first annual Christmas party bash?”

“The infamous LK herself. We’re old friends,” he says, and Veronica thinks there might be something more to that. He looks at her intently, “What’s your story?”

“My best friend Mac brought me as her plus one.”

He seems to relax at that. _Weird._ “Yeah, you didn’t seem like someone who would willingly submit herself to Lilly Kane’s will.”

“Sounds like you might know a little something about that,” she prods. 

Logan holds a finger up, and turns to the bartender. “Vodka, soda. Thanks Charlie.”

“Charlie?” she whispers, making her eyes round, the previous area of questioning quickly forgotten. “How do you know the bartender’s name?”

“Would you believe I’m on a first name basis with a lot of people here?” A slow smile spreads across his face. 

Veronica feels a little flutter in her belly. “I’m not sure I need to be too convinced,” she replies, sipping her wine while maintaining eye contact. 

“Anyways, I should…” she points to where Mac is trying to disentangle herself from that conversation with Jonah. Joshua? _Figure out his name, Veronica._

“See you around, Sweater Buddy.” He grabs his drink, winks and turns. And Veronica embarrassingly watches him walk away. 

* * *

Wallace isn’t able to let her sweater debacle go, but after getting levelled with a patented Veronica Mars glare, he spends the next fifteen minutes trying to ‘make her feel better’ that at least someone else didn’t get the memo either.

Speaking of _someone else_. Veronica happens to look across the room at the gaggle of men in the corner and catches Logan’s eye. Again. They both smile softly and look away. _Jesus, who even is this guy_? 

Mac, who has been weirdly social all night - _I guess she actually likes her coworkers_ \- finally joins them on the couches. Veronica turns to her, and starts speaking quietly. “Mac, be cool - but, that guy over there at ten o’clock. Logan. What do you know about him?” 

Mac doesn’t move a muscle except her eyeballs. _She’s good._ “Are you talking about Logan Echolls?”

 _Logan Echolls?_ “Bad boy son of Hollywood stars, turned prolific journalist, Logan Echolls?”

“One and the same.” At Veronica’s raised eyebrows, Mac continues. “He’s been friends with Lilly and her brother, Duncan, forever. I see him around the office a bunch.” 

Mac eyes her and drops her voice an octave lower. “Why, Veronica Mars. Might you be a little interested in Mr. Echolls over there?” she teases.

“We chatted a little, by the bar,” Veronica admits. “But he seems like a bit of a jackass.” 

“And you’re a bit of a know-it-all; so what?” Veronica scoffs, but Mac persists. “He’s hot. It’s been a while. Go have fun.”

“It just seemed like there was some kind of history between him and Lilly.”

Mac scrunches her nose in thought. “I _think_ maybe they dated in high school? But trust me, there’s nothing going on with them currently.”

“How do you know?”

“Lilly makes it very apparent that she’s not looking to settle. She flirts with everything that mov–”

“ _Mackenzie!_ ”

Lilly Kane comes sauntering towards them in a gold dress that hugs every curve of her body. The draping fabric of the halter top hangs down low to expose her busting cleavage. Her blonde hair is cinched up in a high bun, which shows off the low backing of her dress. She is radiant, glowing, face flushed. Approaching them, she takes a large gulp of the champagne in her hand.

“It’s so good to finally see you out of that desk chair and into this hot number!” Lilly gives her a genuine, open mouth smile. She turns to Veronica. “Always all work and no play with this one.”

“Don’t I know it,” Veronica takes the opportunity to talk up her friend to her boss. “She’s the hardest worker I know.” 

Mac blushes but rolls her eyes and tries to look unaffected.

“It’s really nice to meet you, by the way. This party is so lovely, thank you for having me. I’m Veronica.” She extends her hand for Lilly to shake.

“Oh, please. Any friend of Mac’s is a friend of mine!” Lilly grabs Veronica in a big hug, and Veronica and Mac exchange looks behind her back.

Pulling away, Lilly seems to notice Veronica’s sweater for the first time. Her eyes are bright, like there is electricity buzzing beneath them. “What a fashion statement! I think you would get along well with my friend, Logan.

“Oh, we’ve actually already met.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Lilly leans in closer. “He has a thing for gorgeous blondes who aren’t afraid to break the rules.” Lilly winks at her, and before Veronica can respond, she notices someone on the other end of the room and heads over. “Steve! Get your cute butt over here and give me a kiss!”

“So. That’s the infamous Lilly Kane.” Veronica can’t help but understand the allure.

Mac raises her brows and nods slowly. “She sure is something, isn’t she?”

Veronica feels a set of eyes on her, and turns slightly to see Logan at the bar. He takes a sip of his drink while looking at her over the rim of his glass. Her heartbeat speeds up.

“I think I’m gonna…” 

Mac looks over her shoulder. “Hell, yes,” she says. “Get it, girl.”

* * *

Logan leans against the bar on an elbow, his legs crossed at the heel. 

“Fancy meeting you here,” he smirks.

“How else would I get through three and a half hours of being the brightest moving target in the joint?”

“Well, what can I get you?” He straightens up and gestures at the bar. “This round’s on me,” he declares, as he bobs his eyebrows.

“I’ve already heard that joke tonight and would you believe it’s _still_ not funny the second time?” 

“Darn it, and I’ve been working on that one for, like, 45 minutes.” 

They smile at each other and… don’t look away. He opens his mouth to say something, but gets interrupted.

“Wow, nice sweater, Logan.” A short brunette man pushes his glasses up his nose and addresses Logan with obvious contempt in his tone. “I see you’ve taken it upon yourself to spread holiday cheer tonight."

Logan furrows his brows. “Wait, Fred... you didn’t get the memo?” 

“...The memo?” The man —Fred— suddenly looks nervous.

“Lilly sent out an email to me, you, and Veronica, saying we needed to wear ugly Christmas sweaters tonight. It’s all part of her 18-step plan to boost employee morale, and she specifically chose you because she thought you would be perfect for the job.” Logan puts his hand on his mouth and winces. “Did you… oh god, did you not see the email?” 

Veronica tries, and fails, to hide a smile.

Fred shoves his hand in his pocket to grab his phone, and scurries off.

Veronica whistles. “Wow. You are _bad_.”

“He’s just a jerk; he’s always like that around the office when I visit. Anyway, I needed to secure my spot on Santa’s Naughty List somehow. I have a streak to maintain, you know?”

“Oh, yeah?”

Pointing his thumbs to chest, he says proudly: “32 years and counting.”

“On the 30th year, did you get a plaque?” She sweeps her hand across the air. “‘Logan Echolls, Lieutenant Jackass’.”

His eyes narrow. “Pretty sure I never told you my last name.” Veronica feels herself flush. “So, you’ve been asking around about me, huh?” He grins gleefully. 

When Veronica takes a little too long to collect herself, he takes pity on her. “Hey, it’s cool, Veronica _Mars_. Turns out I maybe asked around about you, too.” He says the last bit softly, and looks up at her through his lashes.

“Yeah?” It comes out breather than she intended. _Damn it_.

“Yeah. Turns out Jordan is a very chatty drunk.” He looks into his glass, and back up, almost like he’s nervous. “So, hear anything juicy about me?”

Veronica pointedly looks around, and lowers her voice. “I heard lots of things.” 

His eyes give away nothing. “Oh, do tell.”

“Well, apparently you are a world-famous ventriloquist who just came back from his Slovakian tour,” she shrugs. Logan lets out a quick breath of surprised laughter, and she smiles and continues. 

“Your crooked manager wanted you to retire after the Scandanavian tour, but you disagreed. You finally fired him when you found out he was sabotaging your dummy.” She leans forward, and whispers, “Turns out, he was moonlighting as a ventriloquist and you were his competition.” 

He grins wide and stares at her for a beat, almost in disbelief. He finally snaps his fingers in an aw-shucks gesture. “You know my whole story now.”

She looks down and takes a breath. “Oh, yeah. And you might have dated Lilly Kane?”

He laughs out in a huff, like he wasn’t expecting that addition. She looks up at him and he smiles fondly. “That’s true. God, we were babies, then. She broke 16 year-old Logan’s heart pretty bad. It was never going to work out though; she didn’t believe in the same thing I did.”

Seeing the question in her eyes, he slowly continues. “Have you ever heard of… what’s it called...” 

She tilts her head questioningly.

“...monogamy?” He finishes seriously, lips slowly curving upward.

She bites her lip to stifle her laughter and nods. “I think I may have heard that word before, yes.”

“Yeah, turns out, Lilly hasn’t. Glad to hear it’s gotten a bit more popular around these parts.”

They turn when they hear someone tapping on glass. Lilly stands on a chair with her champagne glass full again, and looks like she’s about to make a speech.

“Hi everyone! How awesome is this?” she asks the crowd, and everyone gives a woop or a holler. “I wanted to thank everyone for coming. This company is my baby and I’m pretty fucking lucky to have so many amazing people working on it and supporting me in this new adventure in my life.” 

Waiters come around with champagne flutes. They present the tray to Logan and Veronica, and their hands touch when they reach for a glass. They glance at each other, and then quickly away.

“Everyone please raise your glass in a toast! Merry Christmas! Here’s to being young, hot and successful! May we feel this fabulous forever.”

The room reverberates with glasses clinking. Logan and Veronica turn to each other and silently tip their glasses in cheers while looking each other in the eye. As they sip slowly, the room returns to normal volume.

“Hey,” she says to him, a question popping into her head. “If you’re so close with Lilly, why didn’t you know that this event was formal dress?”

He rubs the back of his neck with his hand. “I did.”

Veronica’s mouth falls open. “You did,” she repeats in disbelief. 

“Black is so drab. It would totally wash me out, don’t you think?” 

Veronica raises her brows and gives him an unimpressed look. Logan laughs a little and looks away. “Okay, to be honest?” He looks back at her. “I was dragged to enough black tie events to last me a lifetime. Life’s too short to be voluntarily choked by a tie.”

He says that like there’s a story there. Like it’s a secret he doesn’t share with a lot of people. And it makes her heart skip a beat.

“Hey, Charlie looks kind of lonely. Want to grab another drink?”

“Unfortunately,” he checks his watch. “I actually need to head home,” he apologizes, like it’s the last thing he wants to do. “I have a really early meeting.”

“On a Saturday? Jeez, I thought I was the only dummy at this party who was working tomorrow.”

“The news waits for nobody. Walk me to the coat room?” he asks, hesitantly. She gets the feeling that he’s trying to prolong… this. Whatever _this_ is. She’s happy to oblige.

They put their empty glasses on a tray, and leisurely walk side-by-side, glancing up at each other and smiling. 

“So, you’re working tomorrow? What do you do?”

“Oh, I’m a junior associate at Sullivan-Burke. Basically, I sell my soul for a–”

“Uh-oh,” Logan stops walking abruptly, right inside the door frame. He’s looking up.

“What’s wrong?”

He points above them at mistletoe, and smiles nervously.

Veronica gives an exaggerated sigh and leans back against the door jamb. “What ever shall we do?”

Logan puts his hand on the frame above her head and leans into it. He pretends to think for a moment. “You know, I’m usually a big rule breaker, but apparently it’s, like, _really bad luck_ if you ignore mistletoe.”

Veronica taps her chin. “Is it, now?”

“And we wouldn’t want to test the fates, would we?

“Especially not during Christmastime. I mean, you’re already on the Naughty List. The fates _and_ Santa working against you? You wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“That’s what I’m thinking, too.” 

He leans forward slowly and kisses her. Her hands come up and frame his face, and his splay around her lower back to pull her closer to him. What started off as a chaste kiss soon grows more passionate as they both open their mouths wider, eager for more. When they separate, Logan rests his forehead against hers. 

“I think I’ve gotten the fates off my back for now.”

“Just need to get Santa to come around, too, and you’ll be two for two.”

Logan pulls away and smiles wide, letting her go. He looks down like he’s nervous, and says, “You know, I’m really glad you don’t work for Lilly.”

Veronica raises her brows and remembers earlier when he’d relaxed after she admitted she was a guest. “Because…”

“She forbade me from asking out any of her employees. Said I would take advantage of having a key to the office and be too much of a distraction.”

Veronica’s stomach flips. _He wants to ask her out._

Instead, she deflects. “Oh, so was that your primary objective this evening? Find a suitable lady friend?”

Logan chuckles and runs his hand through his hair. “Actually, I was planning on hanging out with some of my oldest friends that I haven’t seen in a while.” She thinks back to the men she saw him enter the restaurant with. “Instead, I kept getting sidetracked by this beautiful, spunky blonde in a bright red Home Alone ugly Christmas sweater.”

Veronica flushes and looks down. “And now?” She looks back up into his eyes. “Are you happy with how your evening turned out?”

Logan gives her a soft smile and gently pushes a stray hair off her face. “That depends. Can I have your number?”

Veronica holds her hand out for his phone, and he unlocks it and silently gives it to her. After inputting her number, she jokes: “I wonder if associating with you means I’m automatically on the Naughty List, too.”

He laughs and moves to grab his coat. “Is that a risk you’re willing to take?”

She watches him pull on his coat in one fluid movement and can’t stop herself from fixing his collar. “I think it is,” she responds, with a flirty raise of her brows.

Veronica walks him out to the front and he opens the door. She wraps her arms around herself to keep warm as the cold air drifts in. She takes a step towards him and breathes, “Merry Christmas, Logan.”

He leans in close, kisses her forehead, and whispers, “Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my incredibly talented beta and friend, CubbieGirl1723. This story would not have seen the light of day without your support and cheerleading.


End file.
